Massimo Pigliucci at Rationally Speaking blogged a while ago about the finding of several studies reported by the BBC and The New York Times.
According to the BBC, a disturbing 27% of people in Britain are convinced that the likelihood of them becoming affected by a major sickness is a function of “fate,” not of how they manage their life style.
"Dr Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at the charity, said: "It is alarming that such a large percentage of the British population do not realise that half of all cases of cancer can be prevented by lifestyle changes."Education is statistically more important than any other single factor, including race and socio-economic status according to these studies.
The levels of general education in this country are going down, according to my informal observations. I keep finding that education has a great effect on forming opinion and believing in fate or supernatural causes for everyday illnesses and occurrances. Lack of basic science and math education allows people to fall for cons and fallacies, making people believe in the "Que sera, sera" way of life. Why is this not surprising?
If half of all cancers can be prevented by lifestyle changes, surely that means that half of all cancers can't be prevented by lifestyle changes.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a function of "fate" to me. Or if not fate, at least luck: two sides of the same coin.
I'm more concerned about the 73% of people who apparently think that health and sickness isn't a function of luck. That fallacy, that good health is entirely in your hands, is just a tiny step away from the belief that those who suffer from ill health "must" have done something to cause -- and maybe even deserve -- it.